Growing Up on Zartacla
by Flame Soldier
Summary: There really weren't any other kids for him to play with on that terra. Just the prisoners and track beasts. At least he always had his Pa. Drabbles and one shots revolving around the relationship between Mr. Moss and Hamish.
1. First Catch

**Growing up on Zartacla**

**A/N I've been wanting to write this since writing the Mr. Moss and Hamish chapter in my story Demise. This will be a series of one shots and drabbles, some funny, some serious, all about the relationship between Mr. Moss and Hamish. I've never seen anything written about Mr. Moss, so I'd like to give this a try...

* * *

**

One: First Catch

"Pa! Pa! Look what I caught, Pa!"

Mr. Moss looked down as his five year old son tugged on his pant leg. "What is it, son? Can't you see that I'm about to polish Bessie?"

"Oh..." The boy looked downcast, and Moss sighed.

"Just show me what you caught, Hamish."

Hamish immediately brightened up. "Look Pa! I caught a fish!" He held his catch up for his father to see.

He smiled in amusement. The fish was nothing more than a guppy, probably only a few inches long. He tussled his son's orange hair. "That's great, son."

"Can I go feed it to the track beasts, Pa? Can I?" His eyes were wide in excitement as he practically jumped up and down.

"Oh alright," Mr. Moss decided. "Just don't you go and get eaten yourself."

"Thank you Pa!" Hamish exclaimed, running off.

Smiling, Moss picked up his polishing rag and knelt next to his skimmer. He would have to show that boy how real men fished tomorrow...

* * *

**A/N Written because Hamish is adorable and little Hamish is even more so. And yes, I think Mr. Moss is Hamish's father. Although I haven't quite decided if he's his biological father or not yet... Any ways, reviews always appreciated!**


	2. Lost

Two: Lost

"Uh... Mr. Moss, sir?"

Mr. Moss looked up from Bessie and placed his polishing rag down to regard the group of Talons in front of him. "What? Ain't you supposed to be playing with Hamish?"

"Uh... That's the thing sir... We uh... uh..." The Talons all looked around at each other nervously.

"Spit it out, boy! You what?"

"We ah... lost Hamish sir!"

"Now, I'm a gonna assume that I didn't hear you correctly. Because to me, it sounded like you said that you lost my son." He stood up slowly to look the group in the eye. "Now what did you _really_ say?"

They all stared at each other speechless, then they pushed one of them forward. His knees shook as Moss stared at him with furious eyes. "W-we were a playin' with him just like you said, but he went a wanderin' off. We looked for him! Honest we did!"

"Idiots!" Moss shouted. "What're you doin' back here then? You know ho dangerous things are here on Zartacla! If anythin' happened to my boy, it'll be on your heads, you hear?"

They all just nodded wordlessly.

"Now you go back to lookin'!" Not waiting to see their salutes, he mounted Bessie and roared out of the hangar. He took off the energy whip from his belt, ready to cut the whole forest down if he had to. "Hamish! Hamish boy, you out there?" Swerving to avoid a snake that was lying in he path, he bit his lip, worried. There were so many dangerous creatures on Zartacla... Just about anything could harm a little boy of his age...

He pulled his skimmer to a halt just before Widow's Peak, sending up a spray of mud. There was Hamish, crouched next to the river, poking at a turtle with a stick.

"Look Pa!" He exclaimed, poking at it excitedly. "It's a turtle! It's a hidin' in its shell, but it's there!"

Moss let out a sigh of relief as he crouched down next to his son, putting a hand on his shoulder. "That's real nice, son. Now come on, it's supper time."

Hamish stood up grinning, dropping his stick to the ground, instantly forgetting the turtle, giving the little animal a chance to wander away. "Do I get to ride Bessie back?"

He hesitated, then nodded. "Alright..."

"Yay!" the little boy ran to his father's skimmer, getting his little muddy hand prints on it as he pulled himself up.

Mr. Moss winced, then got on, placing his son onto his lap. He took a quick look at all the mud caked on his precious skimmer. "Guess I know the punishment for the fools that lost my boy..."

"Can I drive, Pa? Can I?"

He shook his head. "Maybe when you're older, son..."

**A/N Parents always get more worried than their children when they wander off alone... Little Hamish is now my favorite character to write about. :D **


	3. Monsters

**Three: Monsters**

"Pa.... Pa, you awake?"

Mr. Moss opened one sleepy eye to regard his small son, who was currently poking his shoulder. "Am now... What is it, son?"

"Pa, I'm scared," Hamish replied softly, his eyes darting around the room.

"There ain't anythane to be afraid of, son. Go back to bed." He closed his eyes again only to have his shoulder poked at again.

"What if them there monsters come?" the little boy protested.

Moss sighed and sat up, knowing that Hamish wouldn't be going to sleep anytime soon. "Monsters ain't real."

"Are too!" Hamish argued. "If they ain't real, what're they doin' under my bed?"

**A/N He has a point you know. =p**


	4. Girls

Four: Girls

"Pa?"

Mr. Moss looked down as he felt Hamish tugging at him pant leg. "What is it, son?"

"How come there ain't any girls on the terra?"

"Girls?" He furrowed his brow for a moment, trying to think quickly. "There ain't any here 'cause... They got cooties."

"I know!" Hamish replied. "But I wanna catch un!"

"A girl?"

"No! A cootie!"

A/N Hasn't anyone ever wondered what one of these alleged cooties looked like? =p


	5. Snow

Five: Snow

"What's that, Pa?" Hamish was staring out the prison window at the white flakes floating down from the sky.

"Eh?" Moss looked up from his work at his desk to look over at the window. "That there is snow, son... I've read to you about it before, remember? It ain't that common here on Zartacla..."

"What's it doin' comin' here, then?" The boy's eyes widened in wonder as the white began dusting the ground. His mind began racing with stories he had been read about snow. "Can I go build a snowman, Pa? Can I?"

"There ain't enough snow for that," he replied. "That snow out there ain't goin' ta last long either..."

"Nuh-uh, Pa! I'll build a snowman! Jus' you watch!" With that, the six year old stomped from the room, an air of determination hanging about him.

"Put on a sweater! It's gonna be cold out there!" Moss shouted after him. Shaking his head, he went back to filling out paperwork on his desk. After a few minutes however, curiosity got the better of him and he got up to look out the window.

Hamish was there, scooping the light layer of snow into a bucket, revealing the brown earth underneath. He continued the process with a different bucket until all the snow in the area had disappeared into a container. "Now what is that boy doin'?"

Looking determined as ever, the boy began digging at the ground, which was wet from melted snowflakes. Sticking his tongue out in concentration, he began molding the dirt into a sphere, grabbing snow from the bucket to mix with the earth.

"Now I can't believe it," Moss breathed, amazed. "They boy actually went and done it." He watched as his son crafted a man from snow and dirt. The boy dumped the remaining snow onto the snowman, making it look as if it were entirely made of snow. Blinking, the prison warden made his way outside where Hamish was using rocks as eyes and a mouth.

"Look Pa! I told you I could do it!" Hamish proclaimed proudly.

"Yeah, son. You sure did... Course, this snowman's missin' somethin'."

The boy frowned, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What's it missin'?"

"A hat." Moss took the hat off his own head, putting in on the snowman's. He stood back and clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder, admiring his handiwork. That boy could sure be clever when it came to goofing off, that was sure...

**A/N This was inspired by a scene from To Kill a Mocking Bird. I figure that it doesn't snow much on Zartacla... I wonder if they would let the prisoners play out in the snow? :p**


End file.
